Post by Your Mom~ on Jul 14, 2012 14:45:05 GMT -8
The sun blazed over the urban wasteland, super heating the chunks of concrete and twisted metal that made up the landscape, the air itself shimmering a couple feet off the ground. Olesya pushed her sunglasses up the bridge of her nose, adjusting the pack on her back as she set off on her daily task of scavenging useful materials from what had once been a productive, thriving world. Most things she took back to the Crow's territory to sell, or rather, trade for things she wanted in return. Money was useless, without banks or credit, the only way you could get something that you wanted was to have an a skill or item you could give in exchange.
So far today, the young woman had managed to find a half bottle of aspirin, a packet of jerky, and a dented but still operational wind-up clock. The convenience store was basically picked clean by the time Olesya happened upon it. She felt like a modern day, post-apocalyptic treasure hunter, never knowing what she was going to find from one day to the next. Some days she returned with a full bounty, other days she turned up almost empty handed.
Today's adventure took her south of her old high school. Olesya had been to this area a couple of times prior to the bombings, there were cafe's and clubs her band had played at, as well as the one winter she babysat one of the local orphans for school credit with her then enemy Jonathan Winters, a boy who referred to himself as "Unfettered." The ward had been a sweet little four year old named Madelyn...Maddie. She brought together the two adversaries in spirit of the season, and turned them into friends. There was a moment or two where it could have turned into...more, but the assignment had ended, and the two teenagers had returned to their normal lives. Olesya hadn't heard of or seen the girl since. Sometimes she would wonder whatever happened to the spunky little ball of happiness, she had probably gotten adopted by a loving family and had a fulfilling life...you know, until the world ended. She wondered if she and her imagined perfect family had survived the bombings, if they were okay. Since the fateful day, Olesya had been on the lookout for her own family, and often wondered about the fate of the various people in her life.
The tall brick building that had held a coffee shop, a florist, and a family of six was nothing more than a pile of rubble. Olesya stood there, frozen, unable to take in the sight that stood before her. She couldn't even breathe, it was if she had been stabbed in the chest, her eyes kept trying to fill in the spaces that had once been bricks and windows and quaint little tables and chairs on the sidewalk, where now only crumbled walls, broken glass, and open gray sky stood.
Eventually, she forced her feet to move, making sluggish, dazed steps forward toward the wreckage. Her pace quickened, and she bounded up the wreckage, falling to her knees and digging furiously at the bricks and cement, her hands shredding on the broken glass and pieces of wood as she struggled to unearth her home in vain. She eventually ran out of steam, her shoulders sagging, head dropping, dry ragged sobs coming from her mouth. No tears came to her eyes, she couldn't cry. Her emotions her broken, she didn't know how to feel anymore since the chemicals had coursed through her body. It was like they wanted to come out, but somehow hit a wall, unable to reach the surface. It left her shaking.
Her home had obviously been an unfortunate victim to the bombings, probably not an intentional target, but the chaos had met its mark nonetheless. There was no sign of life. There was also no proof of death. Just the wreckage of what had once been her home. Home, something Olesya hadn't had for a long time, and now it was something she couldn't have back.
Olesya could only hope that her family had not been home that day, that they had been out on a trip or shopping or, or anything...but the likelihood that all of her family had been gone at the time was rather slim.
She didn't like to think about it.
Les climbed the fence at the end of an alleyway, her black ballet shoes giving her a surprising amount of grip on the metal links. She vaulted over the topa dn landed cat-like on the ground, her pack providing a slight imbalance, but not enough to make her stagger. At this point in the day, she figured she could cover another block or two before turning back for the day. Most trading was over by nightfall, and Olesya didn't like being outside of safe territory after dark.
A rustling sound met her ears, Olesya paused, instantly alert. The alleyway was deserted, or at least it appeared to be. A busted up green dumpster leaned against the building, the source of the small sound came from inside. It wasn't that loud, but to Olesya's trained ears, it was like gunshots going off in her head. Curious, she stepped closer, trying to determine what could be in there. It could just be an animal looking for a quick meal, and a cursory glance around determined that there wasn't anyone else around in the alley or on the rooftops. Still, she couldn't help checking it out. She was even with the dumpster now, the smell of rotting refuse causing her to wrinkle her nose. She pulled her knife from her pocket, opening it with a quick flick of her wrist. If it was an animal, she could possibly kill it for meat, and if it wasn't, well, at least she would have a line of defense if whatever ti was tried to attack her.
Reaching up, Olesya threw back the lid to the dumpster, the heavy plastic thudding against the brick wall, followed by a surprised shriek. Instead of a raccoon or rat or mangy dog, inside of the dumpster was a little girl. She looked no older than six or seven, with blonde hair and the widest blue eyes Olesya had ever seen. She was dirty, her clothes worn, faded, and torn. The girl looked at her for a moment, frozen, before bolting out of the dumpster and down the alley. Startled, Olesya took off after her.
"Hey! Wait, come back!"
What was a child doing out in a place like this? With all of the bandits and Barker's soldiers everywhere, she was in danger here. The young woman took off after her, intent on taking her back to Crow's territory where she would at least be safe. They rounded the corner to the main street, Olesya catching the little girl around the middle and hoisting her off her feet. The girl screamed bloody murder, Olesya appearing both shocked and horrified at the ruckus she was creating. Realizing she still had her knife in her hand, she dropped it, trying to keep hold of the struggling girl.
"Shh..it's okay! I'm not going to - oof - hurt you, shh! Ow!"
She tried to calm the child, grunting as she caught a little elbow to the face in her flailing. The 'Ow!' came when something sharp and pointy poked her in the back. Olesya spun around, still clutching the struggling child as her mismatched eyes fell on a second child, this one older and brandishing the very knife she'd just dropped.
"Put'er down."
"S'cuse me?"
"Put. Her. Down."
The girl in her arms had stopped struggling as the older child mustered up the most demanding voice she could. She was around ten or eleven years old, with chestnut brown hair pulled back in a messy braid and intense hazel eyes. She was just as dirty and tattered as the little blonde. Confused by this strange turn of events, she put the little blonde girl down, who promptly ran behind the brunette, who scowled and continued to point the knife at her. Olesya returned the pointed stare, the little girl looked oddly familiar, which was ludicrous since she hadn't been back in Long Beach in over seven years. Glancing up, she recognized the now rather beaten building behind them. The last time she had seen it, there had been trees out front, their shedded leaves long since raked up, the ground cool and dry with crispy brown grass. The sign, now only reading "Nu u e Ga d H me Fo G r " had once read "Nurture Garden Home For Girls".
"Wait.."
Olesya removed her sunglasses, looking down at the girls in front of her. The little brunette scowled, fixing her grip on Olesya's knife. It was clear she'd never wielded weapon in her short life. It had been six or seven years since that winter project, and Olesya liked to think that Maddie had long since been adopted from this place. But that would explain why they were out here without any protection, and why they were so dirty and thin looking.
"Did either of you know a little girl named Maddie?"
She asked curiously, her voice softening as the name brought up the memory of that winter so many years ago. Before she was kidnapped by Sean Barker, before the experiments and hardships, before the earthquake that rocked Long Beach, before moving to the Avenues, before losing her friends, and her mind, as the chemicals took over...there had been happiness. One wild adventure of a week that had started off as a prison sentence and ended up as...what? She managed to make a friend, a good friend who had cared enough to send for her when everything went to hell. To ensure she was safe.
"'Lesya?"
The young woman shook from her wandering thoughts, staring at the girl in front of her as if she was seeing a ghost. She had never introduced herself to these girls, how would they know her name? Not they...her. The little brunette looked at Olesya curiously, squinting her hazel eyes as she looked up at her.
No...it couldn't be.
"...Maddie?"
Recognition dawned in the little girl's eyes and she dropped the knife, throwing herself at Olesya, who bent down and wrapped the girl in her arms. Tears sprung to her eyes as she hugged her, in utter disbelief. Maddie pulled back, looking at Olesya curiously.
"Your hair is like Jonny's now."
Jonny...that's right. Olesya tugged at a loose strand of her stark white hair that had fallen free from her bandana. A small, strange chuckle left the girl's lips as she wiped the tears from her eyes.
"A lot has changed. But look at you! You've gone and grown up on me. What are you doing here? Who's taking care of you?"
Both girls looked a little guilty, their gazes falling to the ground. Olesya frowned.
"Are you on your own?"
Maddie locked her gaze with Olesya, frowning defensively. She raised her voice in a proud manner.
"We take care of ourselves!"
"Matron left when everything blew up."
The little blonde was talking now, having summed up the courage onceshe realized Olesya was a friend of Maddie's. She was still standing behind her brunette counterpart, but she looked less like a frightened fawn.
"But Maddie takes care of us. Don'cha Maddie?"[/color
The young ward nodded at this, the little blonde tugging on the sleeve of her shirt. It was a saddening, seeing how much her little Maddie had matured in such a short period of time. She was acting like a little mommy, taking care of girls younger than her. It was a burden she wasn't supposed to bear. But one thing struck Olesya about that statement..
"Us?"
"There's four of us. Me, Zooey, Kit, and Beth-ann."
This news didn't sit well with Olesya t all. Four little girls living in unstable territory was dangerous to say the least. She knew she couldn't leave now without taking them with her. Some bounty she'd be showing up with today.
"Where do you live?"
"In the orphanage, still. It's empty now."
"And where are the other girls?"
"Inside. Bethie has a cold."
"Can you show me?"
"Yeah! Come on."
Olesya looked to the sky, gauging the sun's location. Getting back would be a much slower process, they would have to leave very soon if they were going to be back before dark. Her heart thudded in her chest as she ran through the possible strategies to get there as safely as possible. She was...aprehensive. It was the first time in a long time she'd felt this feeling, it off-set her a bit. Caring about someone else's well being had become foreign to her. It was refreshing in a way, making her feel more human.
She followed them into the broken down orphanage to meet their 'family.'
---
With a bit of convincing, Olesya set off on her way back to the Crows' territory with four little girls in tow. She carried the youngest, Bethh-ann, on her back as she was sporting a fever and would be too weak and slow to make the entire trip on foot. Maddie brought up the rear because she was the oldest, and though Olesya knew she didn't know a thing about fighting, she would be the most alert to warn them of trouble. Zooey (the little blonde) and Kit followed in the middle, making Olesya feel like she was a mother duck leading her ducklings to the pond. She just had to keep an eyes out for the wolves lurking in the bushes and everything would be fine.
They only ran into trouble once, a pair of muggers jumping out from behind a bulding to try and rob them (not that they had anything worth stealing). Olesya set Beth-ann down, flicking out her knife in the same motion. They were no match for her. She did her best to just knock them out instead of draw blood because the little girla had seen enough violence and hardship that she didn't want to add to it.
They reached the edge of the Crow's territory as the sun was touching the tops of the ruined buildings. The girls were tired, not used to trekking miles at a time. She took them back to her house, setting them up with blankets and tucking them into both ends of her bed. It was strange how her maternal instincts kicked in with these little girls, but she knew she couldn't continue to take care of them all. Regardless of her instincts, she wasn't a mother.
"You're safe here. I'll be right back okay? No horsing around."
God, she sounded so much like her own mother. The thought hurt.
Olesya returned to the center of town just as the lights blinked into life, a generator purring down one of the alleyways. Most people closed up shop at this point, but there was definitely enough life left where Olesya was confident that the individuals she was looking for would still be up. She walked up to the main building where all of the business side of the operations took place. A man stood outside the door, obviously on guard.
"Can I help you?"
He asked, his voice deep and while not entirely welcoming, not intimidating either.
"I have a message to send."
A slip of paper would find its way to the hands of a man who called himself "Unfettered." Only one word was scrawled upon it, the letters rounded and tilted slightly to the right to indicate a left handed female had written it. However, once he read it, there would be no mystery as to who the message came from.
The note simply stated, "Maddie."
So far today, the young woman had managed to find a half bottle of aspirin, a packet of jerky, and a dented but still operational wind-up clock. The convenience store was basically picked clean by the time Olesya happened upon it. She felt like a modern day, post-apocalyptic treasure hunter, never knowing what she was going to find from one day to the next. Some days she returned with a full bounty, other days she turned up almost empty handed.
Today's adventure took her south of her old high school. Olesya had been to this area a couple of times prior to the bombings, there were cafe's and clubs her band had played at, as well as the one winter she babysat one of the local orphans for school credit with her then enemy Jonathan Winters, a boy who referred to himself as "Unfettered." The ward had been a sweet little four year old named Madelyn...Maddie. She brought together the two adversaries in spirit of the season, and turned them into friends. There was a moment or two where it could have turned into...more, but the assignment had ended, and the two teenagers had returned to their normal lives. Olesya hadn't heard of or seen the girl since. Sometimes she would wonder whatever happened to the spunky little ball of happiness, she had probably gotten adopted by a loving family and had a fulfilling life...you know, until the world ended. She wondered if she and her imagined perfect family had survived the bombings, if they were okay. Since the fateful day, Olesya had been on the lookout for her own family, and often wondered about the fate of the various people in her life.
The tall brick building that had held a coffee shop, a florist, and a family of six was nothing more than a pile of rubble. Olesya stood there, frozen, unable to take in the sight that stood before her. She couldn't even breathe, it was if she had been stabbed in the chest, her eyes kept trying to fill in the spaces that had once been bricks and windows and quaint little tables and chairs on the sidewalk, where now only crumbled walls, broken glass, and open gray sky stood.
Eventually, she forced her feet to move, making sluggish, dazed steps forward toward the wreckage. Her pace quickened, and she bounded up the wreckage, falling to her knees and digging furiously at the bricks and cement, her hands shredding on the broken glass and pieces of wood as she struggled to unearth her home in vain. She eventually ran out of steam, her shoulders sagging, head dropping, dry ragged sobs coming from her mouth. No tears came to her eyes, she couldn't cry. Her emotions her broken, she didn't know how to feel anymore since the chemicals had coursed through her body. It was like they wanted to come out, but somehow hit a wall, unable to reach the surface. It left her shaking.
Her home had obviously been an unfortunate victim to the bombings, probably not an intentional target, but the chaos had met its mark nonetheless. There was no sign of life. There was also no proof of death. Just the wreckage of what had once been her home. Home, something Olesya hadn't had for a long time, and now it was something she couldn't have back.
Olesya could only hope that her family had not been home that day, that they had been out on a trip or shopping or, or anything...but the likelihood that all of her family had been gone at the time was rather slim.
She didn't like to think about it.
Les climbed the fence at the end of an alleyway, her black ballet shoes giving her a surprising amount of grip on the metal links. She vaulted over the topa dn landed cat-like on the ground, her pack providing a slight imbalance, but not enough to make her stagger. At this point in the day, she figured she could cover another block or two before turning back for the day. Most trading was over by nightfall, and Olesya didn't like being outside of safe territory after dark.
A rustling sound met her ears, Olesya paused, instantly alert. The alleyway was deserted, or at least it appeared to be. A busted up green dumpster leaned against the building, the source of the small sound came from inside. It wasn't that loud, but to Olesya's trained ears, it was like gunshots going off in her head. Curious, she stepped closer, trying to determine what could be in there. It could just be an animal looking for a quick meal, and a cursory glance around determined that there wasn't anyone else around in the alley or on the rooftops. Still, she couldn't help checking it out. She was even with the dumpster now, the smell of rotting refuse causing her to wrinkle her nose. She pulled her knife from her pocket, opening it with a quick flick of her wrist. If it was an animal, she could possibly kill it for meat, and if it wasn't, well, at least she would have a line of defense if whatever ti was tried to attack her.
Reaching up, Olesya threw back the lid to the dumpster, the heavy plastic thudding against the brick wall, followed by a surprised shriek. Instead of a raccoon or rat or mangy dog, inside of the dumpster was a little girl. She looked no older than six or seven, with blonde hair and the widest blue eyes Olesya had ever seen. She was dirty, her clothes worn, faded, and torn. The girl looked at her for a moment, frozen, before bolting out of the dumpster and down the alley. Startled, Olesya took off after her.
"Hey! Wait, come back!"
What was a child doing out in a place like this? With all of the bandits and Barker's soldiers everywhere, she was in danger here. The young woman took off after her, intent on taking her back to Crow's territory where she would at least be safe. They rounded the corner to the main street, Olesya catching the little girl around the middle and hoisting her off her feet. The girl screamed bloody murder, Olesya appearing both shocked and horrified at the ruckus she was creating. Realizing she still had her knife in her hand, she dropped it, trying to keep hold of the struggling girl.
"Shh..it's okay! I'm not going to - oof - hurt you, shh! Ow!"
She tried to calm the child, grunting as she caught a little elbow to the face in her flailing. The 'Ow!' came when something sharp and pointy poked her in the back. Olesya spun around, still clutching the struggling child as her mismatched eyes fell on a second child, this one older and brandishing the very knife she'd just dropped.
"Put'er down."
"S'cuse me?"
"Put. Her. Down."
The girl in her arms had stopped struggling as the older child mustered up the most demanding voice she could. She was around ten or eleven years old, with chestnut brown hair pulled back in a messy braid and intense hazel eyes. She was just as dirty and tattered as the little blonde. Confused by this strange turn of events, she put the little blonde girl down, who promptly ran behind the brunette, who scowled and continued to point the knife at her. Olesya returned the pointed stare, the little girl looked oddly familiar, which was ludicrous since she hadn't been back in Long Beach in over seven years. Glancing up, she recognized the now rather beaten building behind them. The last time she had seen it, there had been trees out front, their shedded leaves long since raked up, the ground cool and dry with crispy brown grass. The sign, now only reading "Nu u e Ga d H me Fo G r " had once read "Nurture Garden Home For Girls".
"Wait.."
Olesya removed her sunglasses, looking down at the girls in front of her. The little brunette scowled, fixing her grip on Olesya's knife. It was clear she'd never wielded weapon in her short life. It had been six or seven years since that winter project, and Olesya liked to think that Maddie had long since been adopted from this place. But that would explain why they were out here without any protection, and why they were so dirty and thin looking.
"Did either of you know a little girl named Maddie?"
She asked curiously, her voice softening as the name brought up the memory of that winter so many years ago. Before she was kidnapped by Sean Barker, before the experiments and hardships, before the earthquake that rocked Long Beach, before moving to the Avenues, before losing her friends, and her mind, as the chemicals took over...there had been happiness. One wild adventure of a week that had started off as a prison sentence and ended up as...what? She managed to make a friend, a good friend who had cared enough to send for her when everything went to hell. To ensure she was safe.
"'Lesya?"
The young woman shook from her wandering thoughts, staring at the girl in front of her as if she was seeing a ghost. She had never introduced herself to these girls, how would they know her name? Not they...her. The little brunette looked at Olesya curiously, squinting her hazel eyes as she looked up at her.
No...it couldn't be.
"...Maddie?"
Recognition dawned in the little girl's eyes and she dropped the knife, throwing herself at Olesya, who bent down and wrapped the girl in her arms. Tears sprung to her eyes as she hugged her, in utter disbelief. Maddie pulled back, looking at Olesya curiously.
"Your hair is like Jonny's now."
Jonny...that's right. Olesya tugged at a loose strand of her stark white hair that had fallen free from her bandana. A small, strange chuckle left the girl's lips as she wiped the tears from her eyes.
"A lot has changed. But look at you! You've gone and grown up on me. What are you doing here? Who's taking care of you?"
Both girls looked a little guilty, their gazes falling to the ground. Olesya frowned.
"Are you on your own?"
Maddie locked her gaze with Olesya, frowning defensively. She raised her voice in a proud manner.
"We take care of ourselves!"
"Matron left when everything blew up."
The little blonde was talking now, having summed up the courage onceshe realized Olesya was a friend of Maddie's. She was still standing behind her brunette counterpart, but she looked less like a frightened fawn.
"But Maddie takes care of us. Don'cha Maddie?"[/color
The young ward nodded at this, the little blonde tugging on the sleeve of her shirt. It was a saddening, seeing how much her little Maddie had matured in such a short period of time. She was acting like a little mommy, taking care of girls younger than her. It was a burden she wasn't supposed to bear. But one thing struck Olesya about that statement..
"Us?"
"There's four of us. Me, Zooey, Kit, and Beth-ann."
This news didn't sit well with Olesya t all. Four little girls living in unstable territory was dangerous to say the least. She knew she couldn't leave now without taking them with her. Some bounty she'd be showing up with today.
"Where do you live?"
"In the orphanage, still. It's empty now."
"And where are the other girls?"
"Inside. Bethie has a cold."
"Can you show me?"
"Yeah! Come on."
Olesya looked to the sky, gauging the sun's location. Getting back would be a much slower process, they would have to leave very soon if they were going to be back before dark. Her heart thudded in her chest as she ran through the possible strategies to get there as safely as possible. She was...aprehensive. It was the first time in a long time she'd felt this feeling, it off-set her a bit. Caring about someone else's well being had become foreign to her. It was refreshing in a way, making her feel more human.
She followed them into the broken down orphanage to meet their 'family.'
---
With a bit of convincing, Olesya set off on her way back to the Crows' territory with four little girls in tow. She carried the youngest, Bethh-ann, on her back as she was sporting a fever and would be too weak and slow to make the entire trip on foot. Maddie brought up the rear because she was the oldest, and though Olesya knew she didn't know a thing about fighting, she would be the most alert to warn them of trouble. Zooey (the little blonde) and Kit followed in the middle, making Olesya feel like she was a mother duck leading her ducklings to the pond. She just had to keep an eyes out for the wolves lurking in the bushes and everything would be fine.
They only ran into trouble once, a pair of muggers jumping out from behind a bulding to try and rob them (not that they had anything worth stealing). Olesya set Beth-ann down, flicking out her knife in the same motion. They were no match for her. She did her best to just knock them out instead of draw blood because the little girla had seen enough violence and hardship that she didn't want to add to it.
They reached the edge of the Crow's territory as the sun was touching the tops of the ruined buildings. The girls were tired, not used to trekking miles at a time. She took them back to her house, setting them up with blankets and tucking them into both ends of her bed. It was strange how her maternal instincts kicked in with these little girls, but she knew she couldn't continue to take care of them all. Regardless of her instincts, she wasn't a mother.
"You're safe here. I'll be right back okay? No horsing around."
God, she sounded so much like her own mother. The thought hurt.
Olesya returned to the center of town just as the lights blinked into life, a generator purring down one of the alleyways. Most people closed up shop at this point, but there was definitely enough life left where Olesya was confident that the individuals she was looking for would still be up. She walked up to the main building where all of the business side of the operations took place. A man stood outside the door, obviously on guard.
"Can I help you?"
He asked, his voice deep and while not entirely welcoming, not intimidating either.
"I have a message to send."
A slip of paper would find its way to the hands of a man who called himself "Unfettered." Only one word was scrawled upon it, the letters rounded and tilted slightly to the right to indicate a left handed female had written it. However, once he read it, there would be no mystery as to who the message came from.
The note simply stated, "Maddie."
